


paper flowers

by vagarius



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), CAPTAIN SQUAD, Canon Compliant, FTH Auction, Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life, there's a little bit of every friendship, though it doesn't take place during canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 02:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10629906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: One outing turns into two, and two into three, and three into startling regularity. Ushjima prefers routine, but he never imagined one quite like this.or: various (former) volleyball captains (inadvertently) hijack Ushijima's garden, and (somehow) become friends along the way





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SoVeryAverageMe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoVeryAverageMe/gifts).



> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG i was in a bit of a writing slump a little after the auction ended, and i pushed through this slowly. only thing i published was a wee drabble. anyway, here's your first fanwork for FTH (the second one will be written faster, hopefully). at least the setting fits more now than it would in february/march? i also had fun writing ushijima, i must say. i hope you like this!! (i don't think this is _exactly_ the trope you wanted, but, again, i hope you like it)

Ushijima likes flowers.

He prefers to plant vegetables, and the occasional fruit – they're the most practical of plants he can think of – but he will never grow tired of flowers. They draw him in, for reasons unknown, their beauty short and functionality lacking. He has tried tracing through the reasons, before, but has ultimately accepted it as a simple truth: he plants vegetables; he plays volleyball; he likes flowers.

He keeps his vegetables in the backyard, where there is more free soil and space, and dedicates the front yard to his flowers. They're mostly violets of varying shades, of deep blues and even deeper purples. They look like the sea, at times, and like the sky on others, but they always remind Ushijima of his family, a simple flower marrying into regal colors.

But perhaps that is too poetic.

He'd rather have flowers be flowers, because a flower is the best thing a flower can be, and Ushijima doesn't believe in ruining good things.

Dogs, apparently, don't always agree.

Ushijima is rightfully startled when the dog runs up to him, barking and nearly bowling over his flowers. The dog is pulled back right before it can.

"I'm sorry," the owner apologizes from behind him, "He really likes people, but people don't always like him. I hope he didn't damage anything."

"He didn't." Ushijima continues watering his flowers, but when the owner doesn't immediately walk away, he turns around.

And promptly stares.

Karasuno's captain hasn't changed much in the past year or so since Ushijima's seen him. He seems as sturdy as ever, if a bit stressed – from university, perhaps, or from his oversized dog causing trouble – and yet his expression is far more open than Ushijima remembers. Ushijima still feels the most like himself on the court, but he understands that not everyone feels this way. Karasuno's captain, he assumes, did not. He looks much more at ease, here, in Ushijima's front yard as he tries to quiet his dog, than he ever did during their shared time on the court.

"Good morning," Ushijima says, in attempt to project his recognition. "You're Karasuno's old captain."

To Ushijima's surprise, Karasuno's captain laughs, loud and unabashed. "Nice to see you too, Ushijima. And you can stop calling me Karasuno's captain in your head. That's what you're doing, right?" Ushijima blinks, wondering how he knew. Karasuno's captain holds out a hand. "I'm Sawamura Daichi. And this little guy – " he scrubs his hand across the not-so-little dog's head – "is Riku."

"May I," Ushijima asks, "may I pet him?" When Sawamura nods, Ushijima puts down his watering can and reaches a hand toward the dog. The dog hits his nose against Ushijima palm. "Hello, Riku," he says, as he pets Riku's head and back. After a few moments, he stops, figuring Sawamura probably has somewhere to be. "I'm sorry if I have offended you, or held you up. Thank you for letting me pet your dog."

"Offended me?" Sawamura asks, confused. "You didn't offend me. You didn't even do anything _to_ offend me. And I've got nowhere to be, right now."

Ushijima blinks. "Oh," he says, sounding far away, at least to his own ears. "That's good. Thank you."

Sawamura looks amused, and perhaps a little sad. Ushijima wonders why. "Well, you seemed to be busy before Riku and I interrupted, so I'll leave you to it." Sawamura slowly coaxes his dog out of the yard, then waves. "We should meet again sometime!" he calls as his dog pulls him along.

Ushijima watches him go.

 

"What kind of flowers are these, anyway?" Sawamura asks from over Ushijima's shoulder. Ushijima doesn't _jump,_ necessarily, but his muscles do tense in surprise, for a second.

Ushijima breathes. "Violets," he answers, simply. "And a few other species, that have popped up here or there. I feel bad pulling them out."

"So you don't," Sawamura finishes for him. Ushijima relaxes, glad that Sawamura understands his hesitation. He's not sure how he would feel, if he didn't. "Do you grow anything else?"

"I mostly grow vegetables. They are in the backyard." Ushijima doesn't think gardening is anything to brag about, but Sawamura looks impressed and a little awed, and Ushijima can't stop the burst of pride in his chest.

"I thought about having a garden," Sawamura shares, "but never got around to it. I think it's really cool that you're able to do all this." He sighs, his expression put out. "I live in an apartment now, so I don't really have the space for it, anyway."

Ushijima might regret saying this, but: "You could," he says, "plant something in my garden. There is space in the backyard."

Sawamura's eyes light up. "Really?" he asks. "You'd let me do that?" Ushijima hums in affirmation. "That's," Sawamura continues, "that's really kind of you. Fair warning, though: I don't have much of a green thumb, so you'll probably have to guide me through it a bit."

"Of course you don't have a green thumb," Ushijima says. "Your thumbs look perfectly normal."

Sawamura smiles, a little amusedly. He looks down at his fingers. "I suppose they are." He looks up again, still smiling. "Any suggestions for what I should plant?"

Ushijima pauses watering his plants to think. "Snap peas are in season," he says, "and are relatively easy to care for. I think they are a good choice."

"I'd like to grow snap peas, then." Sawamura looks excited, now, despite his neutral tone. If he were a dog, Ushijima imagines his ears would perk up. "I'll buy the seeds and bring them tomorrow?"

Ushijima nods, then picks up his watering can to continue watering his flowers. Sawamura sits down next to him and runs his hands through the grass.

Ushijima is inexplicably glad.

 

When Sawamura walks up to him, a month or so later, he has a new face in tow. "I hope you don't mind Kuroo joining us," Sawamura says, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I don't," Ushijima assures, even though he does, just a little. He and Sawamura have been spending time together for a majority of the spring. They both have classes, and Ushijima practice, but Sawamura still manages to stop by almost everyday to tend to his snap peas, and they often meet at small shops or cafes, per Sawamura's suggestion. Ushijima, dare he say it, has found a friend in Sawamura. Ushijima is no stranger to his own social skills; he knows they are lacking. He just doesn't want to offend Sawamura's friend.

He doesn't want to offend Sawamura.

"Nice to meet you, Ushijima-kun," Kuroo greets. The way he says his name makes it sound more like a nickname than a nicety. Ushijima isn't sure how to feel about that. "Kuroo Tetsurou."

"Ushijima Wakatoshi," he says, uselessly. "I've heard about you."

"Have you now?" Kuroo drawls, "What kinds of things have you heard from, I'm assuming, the lovely Sawamura-kun?"

"Sawamura says you are insufferable, and that your hair is horrendous – "

"You wound me, Sawamura-kun."

" – but that he likes you, anyway."

Kuroo hums. "Wound healed. No longer bleeding out."

Ushijima furrows his eyebrows. "But you weren't bleeding?"

Kuroo blinks, then glances at Sawamura. "That's right, I wasn't. But Sawamura's insults make my poor heart ache. He's lucky I like him."

Sawamura grumbles something unintelligible, stuffs his hands in his pockets, then walks into the cafe. Kuroo laughs, then follows soon after. Ushijima walks in behind them. He has to agree with Sawamura: Kuroo's hair is horrendous. It's even worse from the back.

"So, I heard you have a garden?" Kuroo asks, while they stand in line.

"Yes," Ushijima says. "Sawamura also grows vegetables there."

Kuroo's perpetual (at least, it seems to be perpetual) smirk grows wider. It's vaguely concerning, though not so much as Sawamura's increasingly red complexion. Perhaps he is getting a fever. "Ohoho?" Kuroo trills, as he leans closer to Ushijima, "What kinds of vegetables?"

"Snap peas."

Kuroo's expression leans more toward genuine interest now, he thinks. Ushijima isn't entirely sure. "And what do you grow, Ushijima-kun?"

"Green peppers. Cucumbers. Tomatoes, in the summer." Ushijima pauses; he isn't used to talking this much, not to people he doesn't know. "I also grow flowers. Violets, mostly."

Kuroo hums, like he's considering something. He probably is. "Have you ever considered roses?"

"Roses?" Ushijima repeats, because no, he has not considered roses. "I think their season starts in the late spring."

"It does. So now is the perfect time to try growing some, right?" Kuroo's smirk turns teasing again. Ushijima wonders how Sawamura handles all of Kuroo's tones and expressions without experiencing overload. "They'd look just _lovely_ with the violets, don't you think?"

"Are you sure you're not just a closet romantic?" Sawamura cuts in from in front of them, effectively snapping Kuroo's gaze toward him. Ushijima had underestimated Sawamura, it seems. He can handle Kuroo just fine.

Kuroo's eyes narrow. "As if _you're_ one to – "

"I'll think about it," Ushijima interrupts, before Kuroo can say any more. Kuroo's expression is a bit blinding, after that; he looks more endearing, when his lips curve into the soft of a smile rather than the slant of a smirk.

 

And suddenly, Kuroo is a part of Ushijima's life, too, along with Sawamura. He doesn't visit nearly as often, but when he does, it's for days at a time; long enough for him to help Ushijima plant roses in his garden, a couple days after the suggestion was made. Ushijima wasn't sure what to think of Kuroo, for a while, but Sawamura likes him, and he treats Ushijima's plants with care, and when Sawamura brings Riku over, he flat out hides behind Ushijima, which makes Sawamura laugh harder than he's ever seen. Ushijima still doesn't understand Kuroo and what he says, a lot of the time, but Kuroo doesn't seem to mind.

It's during one of these visits that Ushijima meets Bokuto, and later Oikawa. He already knows them, kind of, though he's only seen Bokuto on the court.

(And if someone had told Ushijima he would be friends with Oikawa Tooru, one day, he would have politely nodded, but he would not have believed them.)

"Do we _really_ have to bring your dog to the mall?" Kuroo whines, slowly inching his way farther from said dog, "Do we _really?"_

Bokuto claps Kuroo in the shoulder, hard enough to make Kuroo fall forward before catching his balance. "Hey, c'mon, I like him. Riku's cool. Right, Ushijima?"

Ushijima blinks in surprise. "Yes," he agrees, from where he's kneeling in the grass to pet Riku. "Riku is very cool."

"See!" Bokuto exclaims, with more bodily movement than strictly necessary. "If Ushijima says Riku's cool in his deep, serious voice, it _has_ to be true!"

Ushijima isn't sure what to say to that, so he stays silent. In the ten minutes or so he's known him, Ushijima has learned that Bokuto is both loud and genuine, but hard to respond to. While Kuroo's and Sawamura's words are just as genuine (and sometimes just as loud), they feel more careful, more calculated. Bokuto says exactly what he thinks, but his train of thought is hard to follow, at least for Ushijima. He hopes he's not the only one who thinks so.

"Fine, fine," Kuroo concedes. His voice turns teasing. "Sawamura-kun," he trills, "I expect you to protect me."

"No," Sawamura deadpans. "It's not my fault you're a wet cat"

Kuroo makes a pained noise and clutches at his heart, which he seems to do a lot around Sawamura. Bokuto simultaneously comforts and laughs at Kuroo, nearly tossing him forward with another clap on the shoulder.

"We should go," Ushijima points out, giving Riku a final pat before standing. They all hum in agreement.

 

Ushijima, admittedly, does not like malls. They're too crowded, for his tastes, and have too much going on; one too many stores, twice as many decisions, and an overload of people Ushijima could never hope to understand. If he told it as it was, as he usually does, he would say malls are overwhelming, but something always stops him from saying so.

Today, though, with two of the most stereotypically obnoxious people he's ever met (plus Sawamura), he feels content. At malls, people stare at him, and ask him questions, but today, they stare at _them_ , and ask _them_ questions, and for inexplicable reasons, this makes him feel less overwhelmed.

"Hey!" Bokuto suddenly exclaims. "Let's stop there! My friend works there!"

"You're friend works at a beauty store?" Kuroo asks, with a raise of his eyebrow. He must practice a lot, to be able to lift only one. "Are you sure – " Kuroo clears his throat. "Are you sure we should be bothering them at work?" Ushijima isn't sure what Kuroo intended to say, but he's almost positive it was something else.

"He goes on break soon!" Bokuto lifts a hand to his chin. "I think."

"You think."

"Um, guys," Sawamura interrupts. "I don't think I can bring Riku in there. I'll just wait out here."

"Aw, but you might know them, Sawamura!"

"Wait, what – "

Bokuto zooms into the store before Sawamura can finish. Kuroo shrugs and follows him at a more reasonable pace. Ushijima looks at Sawamura and tilts his head in question. Sawamura nods, then brings Riku toward one of the nearby benches.

When Ushijima walks into the store, he is assaulted by the scent of lotion and soap, and then by Bokuto's yelling. "Oikawa, Oikawa!" _Oikawa?_ "Come shopping with us!"

Bokuto slams into the counter, eyes bright. Behind the counter is, indeed, one Oikawa Tooru. His back is turned to them.

"I still have like – " Oikawa checks the clock, back still turned – "seven minutes until my shift ends. Then I have to clock out manually, because the machine is broken." Oikawa turns. "Though I suppose my pretty face is – Ushiwaka?"

"Oikawa," Ushijima says, as an automatic response.

Oikawa turns toward Bokuto. "You're shopping with _him?"_

Bokuto blinks. "Yeah, why? Kuroo and Sawamura are here, too."

Oikawa turns again, then smiles sweetly, his voice going sugary. At least, Ushijima thinks it's supposed to be sweet and sugary. "Ah, if it isn't the famous Kuro-chan!" Oikawa sticks out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Kuro-chan!"

"What." Kuroo's voice is flat. His eye twitches. He shakes Oikawa's hand.

"Hmm," Oikawa hums, dramatically looking between the three of them. "And where's Sawamura-kun?"

"He's waiting outside, since he can't bring Riku into the store. We're gonna go wait with him! Meet us after your shift!"

Oikawa's tone lowers. "Wait, I never – " Bokuto zooms off once again. Oikawa sighs. Ushijima turns to leave. "Just so you know, Ushiwaka-chan," Oikawa says, in the same low tone, before Ushijima starts to walk away, "I'm only going because Bokuto asked me to. Don't even _think_ I want to go shopping with _you._ "

"Okay," Ushijima says, because he doesn't know what else to say.

Kuroo whistles lowly, then speed-walks out of the store.

Ushijima blinks in confusion, but follows.

 

"That could've gone worse," Sawamura says as he walks Ushijima home. Ushijima insisted he didn't need anyone to walk him home, but Sawamura insisted harder. He assumes Sawamura likes the exercise; he had already dropped Riku at his apartment. "Though Oikawa still gets on my nerves, sometimes."

"I like Oikawa," Ushijima says, even though he knows Sawamura's comment was not a prompt for conversation. "I still do not understand him, but he is a good person."

Sawamura smiles. "That's funny," he says, "Bokuto told me the same thing."

"Bokuto?" Ushijima repeats. "He does not strike me as a good judge of character."

Sawamura hums noncommittally. "He isn't, not really. But when he says something, he means it." Sawamura hums again, then asks, "Out of curiosity, why do you think Oikawa is a good person?"

Ushijima thinks. "If he was not a good person," he begins, "then Aoba Johsai would not have made it as far as they did."

"Then you should tell him that," Sawamura says, "and you might just understand him a bit better."

Ushijima considers it. He has only ever called Oikawa a good setter, or a good player, but never a good person. He wonders how Oikawa would react. He wonders if Oikawa would care. "I will," he answers, eventually, and wonders how much truth the statement holds.

 

One outing turns into two, and two into three, and three into startling regularity. Ushjima prefers routine, but he never imagined one quite like this.

"You can't just order something fish-flavored!" Oikawa yells, pointing down at Kuroo's choice in treat. Ushijima secretly agrees. "That's not how pastries are supposed to work!"

"At least I don't get melon bread _every. Single. Time."_ Kuroo punctuates each word with a jab at his plate, pastry still in his other hand. He takes a big bite, then smiles. Oikawa scowls while Bokuto laughs and slams his hand on the table. Sawamura ignores them, already partway through his slice of cake. "Back me up here, Ushijima," Kuroo says, and suddenly all eyes are on him. "Tell him that I at least don't get the same thing every time."

"At least Kuroo doesn't get the same thing every time," Ushijima parrots. Kuroo turns toward Oikawa victoriously. "But," he adds, "fish-flavored pastries are still disgusting."

"Ha!" Oikawa shouts. "Even Ushiwaka agrees with me, and we don't agree on _anything._ "

Ushijima would disprove that statement – for example, their opinions on fish-flavored pastries – but he doesn't have the chance to. "Well, I bet you Sawamura has my back. Right, Sawamura-kun?"

"Wrong," he states, between bites of cake.

"Wow, rude. Bo?"

"Nope, I'm with Oikawa here. Your tastes are pretty disgusting, sometimes."

"Ugh." Kuroo mournfully slumps onto the table. "All my friends, against me. It's a nightmare come true."

"Thank god," Sawamura mumbles, easily dodging the hand Kuroo shoots out.

Kuroo sits up and scowls. "I am going to kill your snap peas."

Sawamura narrows his eyes. "You wouldn't _dare._ "

"Um," Oikawa interrupts, "Not to intrude on your moment, or anything, but. What?"

"Sawamura grows snap peas in my garden," Ushijima answers for them. "And Kuroo helped plant roses."

"You have a garden?" Bokuto exclaims, slamming his hands on the table again. Bokuto speaks mostly in exclamations, Ushijima has learned. "Can I grow something there too?"

"Sure," Ushijima says.

"I mean," Bokuto rambles on, "it would be more you planting something _for_ me. I'm really bad with plants. I think I killed a cactus once."

"I'm," Oikawa admits, scrunching his nose. "I'm not much better."

Kuroo guffaws, at that, and Ushijima clocks out for a time. He watches as Oikawa scrunches his nose further, and how Sawamura snorts at him. He sees their mouths move, all four of them, but he does not hear them; all he hears are Sawamura's words, his _then you should tell him_ followed by Oikawa's _we don't agree on anything,_ but it's his own voice – _I will, I will, I will –_ that pushes him to blurt out what he does.

"I still think," he says, cutting off any former conversation. He will feel bad about that later. For now, he turns toward Oikawa; he is addressing him, after all. "I still think," he says, "you should've of come to Shiratorizawa. But," he continues, before Oikawa can start spluttering, "you have flourished regardless. I'm glad."

For a moment, everyone freezes. Even Sawamura, who has long gotten past feeling surprised around Ushijima, pauses and stares, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Ushiwaka," Oikawa says, breaking the silence, "Are you – are you _smiling?_ "

"Am I?" Ushijima brings a hand to his mouth. He is. "I am. I suppose I'm happy, right now."

Suddenly, Oikawa starts to laugh, all gasping inhales and shaking shoulders. Ushijima is vaguely concerned. "I can't – I cannot _believe_ – " Oikawa cuts himself off with another gasp, then a laugh as he exhales. "I cannot _believe_ this is the guy I antagonized over for over, what, more than three years? I can't believe it."

"I can," Kuroo comments, unhelpfully. "Also, I'm pretty sure you're using the word 'antagonized' incorrectly."

"Shut up, Kuro-chan!" Oikawa slaps Kuroo's shoulder, still laughing.

"At least Oikawa doesn't eat fish-flavored pastries," Ushijima adds, and is pleased when Oikawa laughs harder.

_You might just understand him a bit better._ Ushijima wouldn't say he understands Oikawa, not fully - but for once, he doesn't think he minds.

 

"You know," Oikawa says, "when you mentioned having a garden, I honestly wasn't expecting all this." He furrows his eyebrows. "Wait, is _this_ why you're always using farming metaphors? Please tell me this isn't why you're always using farming metaphors."

Ushijima ignores him. Bokuto provides sufficient distraction.

"Are these tomatoes?" Bokuto asks, excitement loud and clear. It makes Ushijima excited, and perhaps a bit proud.

"Yes," he answers, somewhat in awe. _Is it really mid-summer already?_

"Can they be, like, my honorary plant? I don't want to disturb your garden or anything but they look really pretty and I like how they grow around the little fence thing and – you don't have to say yes."

"Yes," he says again, partly because he doesn't see the problem with honoring Bokuto, and partly to watch Bokuto perk up, like a sunflower toward the sun. It's strange, he thinks, to care so much about what to say, past just wanting to tell the truth. "Were there any more peas, Sawamura?"

"A few," he answers. Snap pea season has ended, but Sawamura still finds stragglers, sometimes. He always looks surprised when he finds them.

At first, he was unsure about bringing the four of them into the backyard with him. They have all seen the flowers in the front yard, and Sawamura has his peas to tend to, but otherwise, there is no other reason for them to be here other than to _show._

Ushijima never felt the need to _show_ people, until now.

"Hey," Kuroo says, unknowingly interrupting Ushijima's train of thought, "What's this stump for?"

Ushijima looks over. "My family used to have a cherry blossom tree," Ushijima explains, "but it was damaged during a storm, and we had to cut it down." He could stop there, he knows, but he wants to tell them more. "When I was small, and the cherry blossoms down the road started to bloom, we would hang paper flowers in its place."

"That's sweet," Sawamura says, a soft smile on his face.

Bokuto hums, hand held dramatically at his chin. His arm shoots up. "We should do that!"

"It's not cherry blossom season, Bo."

"Who cares?" Bokuto asks, arm still in the air. "We can still make flowers, can't we?"

"I'm not sure I remember how."

"You'll remember," Kuroo reassures, patting Ushijima's shoulder. "If not, we'll figure it out. Eventually." Sawamura nods in agreement.

Oikawa crosses his arms and pouts. "What am I, invisible?"

They all turn to him. Even Sawamura looks devious. "Yes," they say. A moment passes before all five of them burst into laughter.

Ushijima is glad he showed them, after all.

 


End file.
